Questions About The Master and Margarita

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Answered Questions (32)

A russian friend of mine gave me me this book, and said Margarita reminded her of me. So, now I am left to se if I should slap her or hug her :D What do you think?

Frank Your Majesty, we are charmed! Her Majesty is charmed!

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Did you know that this is Daniel Radcliffe's favorite book? ;) https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2khgud/i_am_daniel_radcliffe_ama/cllbp5e

Nimrah Ahmed Do you know, it's also the favourite book of Matt Smith (Dr Who).…moreDo you know, it's also the favourite book of Matt Smith (Dr Who).(less)

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What's the recommended translation for this book? Many seem to have negative comments about Pevear & Volokhonsky. I have access to Glenny, P&V and Burgin & O'Connor.

Lucy Day Werts .
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There are six translations of The Master and Margarita in total: Ginsburg, Glenny, Burgin/O'Connor, Pevear/Volokhonsky, Karpelson, and Aplin.

People …more.
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There are six translations of The Master and Margarita in total: Ginsburg, Glenny, Burgin/O'Connor, Pevear/Volokhonsky, Karpelson, and Aplin.

People tend to recommend whichever translation they happen to have read, which means that most recommendations are just people talking about the most recent or most well-known edition.

P&V are superstar translators, so there are a lot of people talking about them. They're well-respected, but anything that's extremely popular also produces a strong backlash, and there are definitely readers and critics who are strongly against their work.

Glenny is arguably the best if you want something that reads smoothly in English; it appears to be the worst if you care about accuracy.

Burgin/O'Connor seems like a good choice. Unlike Ginsburg and Glenny, they had the benefit of a couple decades of research on Bulgakov.

P&V, like Burgin and O'Connor, were aiming for a literal, faithful Russian translation. Both versions have lots of explanatory notes.

For information on all the translations, including book covers, ISBNs, pagecounts, links to relevant articles, and extracts for comparison, visit We Love Translations: World Literature in English.

» What's the best translation of The Master and Margarita?

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The book is a satire about soviet life, so as someone with little knowledge of soviet life will it just be lost on me? The main reason I have never read Animal Farm is because the metaphors would essentially be lost on me and I am just left reading a book about farm animals at face value. I am worried the same thing would happen here. What essential history knowledge is recommended to understand this book fully?

Verusha Fleming I advise to read this book not only one time and then put back on shelf and forget it, just because you didn't understand at first try. This book full…moreI advise to read this book not only one time and then put back on shelf and forget it, just because you didn't understand at first try. This book full of surprises, like firework, with many colors and awww effect after. You can read and transform it into your everyday life, that is how magical this book is. There is philosophy side, there is a love story, there is a fantasy. Plus, this book was consider didn't have an end. Because Bulgakov died and didn't finish it. So, do not get disheartened, just dive in. You will love it...(less)

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Is this book sexual?